The Shadow that Snuffs Out the Dark
by double1squad
Summary: Shikamaru comes across a sight that he did not want to see: Naruto about to commit suicide. Now he has to get Naruto out of his depression. Troublesome...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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><p>The troublesome blond was sitting at 'his' tree. That wasn't the problem though, no, it was how he was looking at the kunai.<p>

Shikamaru wasn't an expert, but it was painfully obvious that Naruto was contemplating ending his own life.

"Wha…?" Naruto suddenly found that he was unable to move.

The Nara gestured to the side like he was throwing a kunai away and Naruto did the same except he actually threw a kunai.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed when he saw the other boy. "Why did you do that?"

Lazily, Shikamaru gave Naruto a long hard look, "You were thinking about suicide. As a friend and fellow Academy student, I couldn't let you go through with it."

The blond glared, "And why not?"

"Simple," Shikamaru had now sat next to him, "Too many people will be affected." Naruto opened his mouth to protest but was cut off, "The Hokage will become depressed and that could never be good for the village. Iruka has become very attached to you and will probably commit suicide eventually, which would result in the loss of the best teacher in the Academy. Finally, Teuchi and Ayame would probably lose Ichiraku because of bankruptcy."

"…"

"Plus it would be troublesome if people found out that I could have stopped you."

A small grin broke out across Naruto's face, "Figures you would say that." The blonde's face fell a couple of seconds later, "But I think that more than a few would actually celebrate my death while the rest would act as if they didn't even hear of it."

Shikamaru sat there too stunned to speak, had his always optimistic friend always had to deal with people who hated or ignored him that much?

"But I guess I won't try that again," Naruto did look a little happier, "cause I wouldn't be able to live with myself if my death caused that much trouble."

"Meh," Shikamaru smirked. "You are just as troublesome while alive as you would be dead."

"Shikamaru!" Naruto chased after the fleeing Nara after what he said registered.

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><p>... I have no explenation for starting another story, especially since this is the darkest story that I've ever written. Although, I do think this is better than my other stories.<p>

But enough of that! I have to warn you that I probably won't update this story regularly, **so don't complain!** I can only write like this when I am really upset and that doesn't happen often.

Anyways, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Loneliness.

That was Naruto's life.

Every day, people ignored his existence even when he became the most obnoxious person in the village. He had bought the most obvious outfit he could, a bright kill-me orange, and acted like a loudmouth idiot in the hope of attracting some type of attention. When that didn't work, he added pranks to complete his new personality.

It didn't help much. The only attention he received was from the large amount ninja that ended up chasing him and they didn't offer much. Rarely using his name, they tended to call him brat or you.

He hated that.

Then he met Iruka.

The caring chunin was like a small candle in Naruto's dark world; a source for encouragement and recognition. Because of Iruka's efforts, the blonde's classmates ended up using his name more than their parents or siblings.

But that soon faded. Instead of using his name to recognize him, most would use it as an insult. This forced Naruto to create a wall between himself and the rest of the village. There was only one way to truly reach him and that was through a gate that only one person had ever passed.

Until now.

Shikamaru didn't realize it, but he had somehow managed to enter Naruto's heart. Not only that, but he was the closest to the true feelings of the blond having leaped ahead of Iruka.

As graduation day approached, the lazy Nara would send smiles of encouragement towards Naruto. Those encouraged the blonde to try harder in his studies and work on completing at least two bunshin in time for the test. While it didn't really help him in either aspect, it was still worth it.

But two days before the big test, Shikamaru was absent. A flurry a thoughts filled his head that morning, most of which blamed himself for whatever reason the lazy boy was missing.

Naruto came to the conclusion that Shikamaru was avoiding him. The blond was now faced with the dilemma of how he would get a message in the most obvious way possible while still being discrete.

And so, the greatest prank in the history of pranking was born.

**I have decided that I will alternate between showing interactions between Naruto and Shikamaru and Naruto's feelings about what's going on. This is different from my other stories, so if anyone has advice on how to improve my writing, I welcome it.**

**But on to other news: I am currently deciding whether or not to make this a yaoi or just making them really close friends. While I love the pairing, I don't want to make something that has been done before unless people think that it has the opportunity to become an amazing story through that path. I need people's honest oppinions on how they think this story will turn out for both paths. This doesn't mean I want an entire plotline, no, I want a review combining your knowledge of this writing style for the story and how similar stories turn out. I will add some twists to this so it shouldn't end up resembling most of the stories by the time it finishes, but it will be similar to some in the beginning.**

**I apologize for rambling on in that last paragraph and now in this one, but I tend to enjoy writing stories that people read. I am a people pleaser and I am the happiest when I write, draw, or do something that brings some joy to another's life. While I have a small fan base, I know that I have not reached my full potential in any of my stories. My writing tends to be immature and I am to picky to just pick some random beta for my stories without having the knowledge that they can help bring my stories to the next level. I acknowledge the fact that I cannot improve on my own anymore, but know I have to deal with the problem of finding that person who will be able to get my somewhat jumbled stories in line. Like I said earlier, I would greatly appreciate it if people would give me addvice on how to proceed.**

**Thanks  
>double1squad<strong>


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